Help ...hard drive broken ..Can I fix it myself???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jenny
  • Start date Start date
J

Jenny

Hi,
My hard drive has just failed. It won't boot at all and its making odd
wining and clicking sounds. It's a Maxtor Diamondmax (the Maxtor
Powermax software cannot even see it on my system)
I would like to recover the data, although it's not that valuable
really, but I don't want to spend £400+ for a recovery firm to do it.

Does anyone know what they do physically to get the drive up and
running enough to get the data off?
I know that once it's working there are data recovery tools, and I've
used these successfully in the past, but to get it working are there
any tricks anyone can suggest.

Otherwise can anyone suggest somewhere cheap I could take it??

Thanks

Jenny
 
Jenny said:
Hi,
My hard drive has just failed. It won't boot at all and its making odd
wining and clicking sounds. It's a Maxtor Diamondmax (the Maxtor
Powermax software cannot even see it on my system)
I would like to recover the data, although it's not that valuable
really, but I don't want to spend £400+ for a recovery firm to do it.

Does anyone know what they do physically to get the drive up and
running enough to get the data off?
I know that once it's working there are data recovery tools, and I've
used these successfully in the past, but to get it working are there
any tricks anyone can suggest.

Otherwise can anyone suggest somewhere cheap I could take it??

Thanks

Jenny
Click to expand...

Not fixable by you. However, it will be very easy for you to restore your
date using your backup media (CD, tape, external hard drive or whatever
method you were using).
 
Thanks for your helpful and constructive response Doug.
The data I wish to recover is the information I have stored since my
last backup a few weeks ago. As I said it's not too valluable but I
would like to keep it if I can.

Can anyone else help?

Thanks

J
 
Jenny said:
Hi,
My hard drive has just failed. It won't boot at all and its making odd
wining and clicking sounds. It's a Maxtor Diamondmax (the Maxtor
Powermax software cannot even see it on my system)
I would like to recover the data, although it's not that valuable
really, but I don't want to spend £400+ for a recovery firm to do it.

Does anyone know what they do physically to get the drive up and
running enough to get the data off?
I know that once it's working there are data recovery tools, and I've
used these successfully in the past, but to get it working are there
any tricks anyone can suggest.

Otherwise can anyone suggest somewhere cheap I could take it??

Thanks

Jenny
Click to expand...

Jenny:

One trick that will sometimes get a clunking hard drive to work temporarily
is to seal it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for about 5 to 10
minutes. Then pull it out, plug it into the computer, and quickly copy your
data to another hard drive or some other media. You can put it back in the
freezer a couple more times before the hard drive dies for good.

The reason this works is that the thermal contraction of the hard drive
internals frees up the read-write heads and allows the drive to run for a
short time until it warms up again.

I used this trick once on a failed hard drive, not expecting it to really
work. I did manage to salvage the data, though, so it's definitely worth
trying.

Rob
 
Thanks Rob ...nothing to loose (well, you know what I mean) so I'll
give it a go and let you know!

J
 
Jenny said:
Hi,
My hard drive has just failed. It won't boot at all and its making odd
wining and clicking sounds. It's a Maxtor Diamondmax (the Maxtor
Powermax software cannot even see it on my system)
I would like to recover the data, although it's not that valuable
really, but I don't want to spend £400+ for a recovery firm to do it.

Does anyone know what they do physically to get the drive up and
running enough to get the data off?
Click to expand...

They put it in a clean room, dismantle it, and put the platters on a
special reader.

I know that once it's working there are data recovery tools, and I've
used these successfully in the past, but to get it working are there
any tricks anyone can suggest.
Click to expand...

One trick relies on getting a controller card from another hard drive,
the same EXACT model. And swapping it out. Do this AFTER the freezer
trick.
 
They put it in a clean room, dismantle it, and put the platters on a
special reader.



One trick relies on getting a controller card from another hard drive,
the same EXACT model. And swapping it out. Do this AFTER the freezer
trick.
Click to expand...

"Whining and clicking sounds" don't sound like a controller board problem.
 
~misfit~ said:
"Whining and clicking sounds" don't sound like a controller board problem.
Click to expand...

Whining is the drive motor going out. But it still spins.

It can also be caused by pulse-width modulation. (PWM) A common way of
controlling motors and lights. Which at some frequencies is audible.

Clicking is the read head seeking gone awry. This CAN be caused by the
controller.

Also some hard drive boards have a little noisemaker that makes a LOUD
siren. You can hear it from the next room.

The mechanical is one possiblity, and the controller card is another.
 
Thanks Paul and Misfit for your suggestions.... I have already tried
the freezer trick but with no luck.
Fortunately a friend of a friend thinks he can fix it ...fingers
crossed, but if not then I may aswell try the controller board I
guess, it's still cheaper to buy a new drive than to send this for
recovery.
Incidentaly, I don't suppose it's possible to remove the platters and
put into a new drive of the exact same model?

Anyway, thanks again,

J
 
Jenny said:
Thanks Paul and Misfit for your suggestions.... I have already tried
the freezer trick but with no luck.
Fortunately a friend of a friend thinks he can fix it ...fingers
crossed, but if not then I may aswell try the controller board I
guess, it's still cheaper to buy a new drive than to send this for
recovery.
Incidentaly, I don't suppose it's possible to remove the platters and
put into a new drive of the exact same model?

Anyway, thanks again,
Click to expand...

They do it it a clean room for a reason. Dust.

THere also is too much in the way of the platters, you'll damage them
trying to dismante it. Once you pull off the cover, there's a read arm
(or several) to contend with. And don't even talk about transplanting
them. If your friend is going to physicly open the drive, don't let
him. The controller board won't interfere with the data recovery
people. Opening the drive in an unprotected environment will.

P.S is the drive under warrenty? If it is the manufacturor *may* offer
data recovery for free. Don't tell them it's been in the freezer :) I
know Dell did for a friend of mine when his drive failed. I told him it
was failing, Dell told him it was a virus. I was right. He listened to
Dell. :)
 
Thanks Paul and Misfit for your suggestions.... I have already tried
the freezer trick but with no luck.
Fortunately a friend of a friend thinks he can fix it ...fingers
crossed, but if not then I may aswell try the controller board I
guess, it's still cheaper to buy a new drive than to send this for
recovery.
Click to expand...

You might contact the drive manufacturer to see which
controller board revisions are compatible, as it's possible
a new drive's board wouldn't be.

Incidentaly, I don't suppose it's possible to remove the platters and
put into a new drive of the exact same model?
Click to expand...

No, a data recovery center has specialized equipment to read
off the data raw, putting the platters in another drive
would not work even if you could do it mechanically
perfectly and not get any dust in, both of which are
unlikely.
 
Hi Paul,
THanks again for the information. I thought as much but it's good to
know.
I suspect my friend is thinking of the contoller board route then
....I'll be sure to check!

J
 
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